In response to an increase in demand for household supplies and cleaning products, Amazon had temporarily halted restocking all “non-essential” supplies. That meant all CD, vinyl, and merch sales were paused as the online outlet kept up with huge demands. But now, vinyl retailers and music lovers alike are in for good news: Amazon announced it will be resuming the sale of all music-related merchandise.
After less than a month, Amazon is finally ready to begin restocking all “non-essential” items that were placed on hold as the coronavirus pandemic worsened. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon’s warehouses will begin seeing more items from third-party sellers like record labels and distributors. “Later this week, we will allow more products into our fulfillment centers,” an Amazon spokeswoman told the WSJ. “Products will be limited by quantity to enable us to continue prioritizing products and protecting employees, while also ensuring most selling partners can ship goods into our facilities.”
Amazon’s announcement comes at an opportune time for the music industry. Nearly every summer concert tour and festival has been canceled or postponed and the annual audiophile event Record Store Day was rescheduled. Amazon restarting the sales of CDs and vinyl means music lovers can have access to physical copies of their favorite albums while stuck in quarantine. Though Amazon’s announcement means greater access to music, the best way to support a musician is still buying merch directly from their website.